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THE CHRONICLES OF THE DAD HATTER:

About Me

I have loved fashion since I was old enough to wield a pair of scissors and start a collection of scrapbooks.I also love to write...hence this blog... about my take on fashion and trends and people in fashion and how I feel about them and it and...well,enough said.
But this isn't a fashion blog like any others as it isn't only about fashion. It is about having fun and laughing and having views and sharing them...as I share The Chronicles of The Dad Hatter with you...and he has absolutely Nothing to do with fashion!...but more to do with laughing. Get the picture?

Saturday, 26 October 2013

I was reading an article about Chloe Sevigny and how she admits to being a little "anal retentive" when it came to arranging her closet: designers hanging by alphabetical order, vintage in a different section...And it got me thinking; all I require is space to hang what I have and what I purchase,which usually results in an awful lot of shuffling around and doubling up... Anal retentive?She's bloody lucky.Growing up my Mom was the proverbial shopaholic...bags strewn in hidden closets under lock and key,some surreptitiously brought upstairs away from Dad's glare and quickly dispensed with in her bedroom closet already bulging from the weight of too many shopping sprees. Soon Mom had no room in her closet... and zip up wardrobes would sprout like mushrooms in the night. And when that was no longer enough...her clothes snuck themselves into our closets...

Once we fled the cuckoo's nest,Mom decided that her revenge would be to sabotage our closets and bombard them with her clothes. Complain? How could we...we left home,bare the consequences.

We had a playroom, at the top of the house which was my sister's and my domain. We had individual desk nooks with shelves and drawers each. But when the wardrobe expansion dictated greener pastures, Mom explored her horizon and came up trumps. Remove the desk nooks and reduce it to one ( I was in boarding school at that point) and my sister had her desk/shelf unit set up nicely in another corner so that she could take the expanse of the wall and create her nirvana: built in wardrobe from one end to another.Chloe Sevegny is an amateur when it came to Mom's holy reign of terror over her wardrobe : if you so much as stepped into her room (strategically placed above the living room...) and so much as turned the key to unlock the closet...she would spring to life like a panther:" REEEMMMM!?What are you doing in my bedroom!!!" she would boom across the floors and ceilings,her voice like a carillon reverberating in your skull.The closets we could safely delve into to our hearts content were the ones in "our domain": her finely tuned hearing would switch off because there would hang her "oldies":clothes she was mildly interested in....until I or my sister would appear wearing a piece of her" bored with clothing" ,her eyes would focus,her mind would start to whirl through the archives of her closet and when it came up empty she would ask:"That's nice...where did you get that from?!""Your closet upstairs,Mom....""Hmmm....don't ruin it...." or...." I forgot I had that,put it back in my room after..."With all the magnificent clothes,shoes and accessories she had...the insult to injury would be when she would delve into our meagre (compared to hers...)belongings and insist on wearing my bracelet, Lina's cardigan.... and if we DARED to whinge all hell would break loose.Of course we were incredibly lucky to have such an extended wardrobe especially when she would invite us in and give us precious gifts of pieces she didn't wear nor want anymore. Fashion was the way Mom expressed herself and she did so with dignified precision worthy of any designer. She shopped therefore she was... and when she passed away and we had to clear out the sacred closets and uncover the hidden gems,some still wrapped up with their tags dangling,did we shed a tear for here was the essence of Mom,her beating pulse....her cologne still wafting from cashmere and Chanel.

Friday, 25 October 2013

So this is what happens when you cross Big Bird with Louis XIV "Le roi soleil"...a Big Blurb!!!BUT!!!Having said that...she has got the media talking about her again,creating the buzz that was somehow lagging behind her of late. Kudos...no more red meat for Gaga...only white!

Now here she is side and back...I am loving the dress ....minus the Basil Brush (the fox) sleeves. Very Helena Bonham Carter .....Maybe she ain't so Gaga after all... Lady Savvy!!

Wednesday, 23 October 2013

The look is more "Footloose" and "Fancy free"...and as free as you fancy. Just throw it all together "clash" may care....and see what happens!If people stop and stare...you got it right! If they stop,stare, point at you while snickering...not good. Go home,climb under you duvet and wait for the "humiliation" storm to pass.There are no rules in fashion...throw that book out of the window and create your own "look book"... no one can judge you since everyone is busy trying to get their look right.

Grunge is back....retro grunge with a hint of ballroom dancing. Biker boots,"bovver" boots, boots with buckles and straps...paired with dainty and taffeta is the look for this season. Pull on that knitted hat over long unruly locks...and you will look the business! *images taken from Red Magazine and "juj-ed" up*

Sunday, 20 October 2013

The point of our outing was to check out fireplaces....nothing Frockanrolla about that....until we came face to face with this excellent motorcycle shop and even more exciting.... (well depends for whom...!!) tshirt display.

Yes!... the Harleys were customized and divine but my eyes alighted upon their t shirts that are, I was told, unique and one of a kind. The label is "www.same-same.fr" and made in France...they come in all sorts of colours and sizes, reasonably priced at 36€.The Coach bought one: it has that colourful rough and tumble look with worn edges and muted colours...that make vintage tshirts so desirable and so James Dean-ish.

You don't have to be a die-hard biker to enjoy the fruits of this lovely store, there are lovely accessories to buy for the Frockanrolla fashionista including the never out of style:colourful skull scarves and necklaces.

If you are a little over the skull-dudgery...as I am now after having immersed myself in the fad wholeheartedly...stick to the tshirts for your guy or for yourself who said they are only for men!The welcome is genuine and warm and non leather clad folk are always welcome...A big Thank You: to the lovely ladies who helped us yesterday....Merci a vous, Mesdames!EASY RIDER MOTORCYCLES: Z.I.Les Tourrades, Allee Dieudonne Costes-06210 Mandelieu La Napoule Tel:09 52 73 05 76or on : www.easyridermotorcycles.fr ...where you can also purchase the merchandise.The Fireplace hunt was less exciting and far more costly....

Friday, 18 October 2013

Marc Jacobs has left Louis Vuitton after 16 faithful years at the helm of this Titanic house of fashion and accessories. Yes..he has walked off into the sunset clad in his steadfast attire of The 3 S's... skirt and sandals with socks.

Marc has gone back to his roots and his own label .....who will reign supreme at Vuitton and will he keep the flag soaring ?

As of the 10th of October, Nicolas Ghesquiere formerly of Balenciaga, has been appointed as his replacement.

Thank God there's still the unperturbable Chanel.....Here's a lovely little film, a chapter of chapters into Coco's life...I know it well,I did my thesis on Gabrielle back in my student heyday....Enjoy!

Saturday, 12 October 2013

Look what I found!Always proud to dig up the new,exciting and the original ... You'll either love it or loathe it...I present to you:The Speedometer official stainless steel bracelet.Yes! It does look like the dial from your Rolex and yes! It does come in several colours... to match the dial ....or not.

It has been a long time since a book has literally pulled the rug out from under my feet..I am only glad that once lying down...I was able to indulge myself in this wonderful tale, a historical murder mystery in 17th century Manhattan....and believe me the indulgence was pure joy.It is rare when an author captures your attention from the first sentence and rarer still that she engages you so thoroughly that the thought of putting the book down is simply unheard of, a painful necessity throughout the day. Many authors unfortunately feel the need to bog you down with so much historical facts and details that your brain goes into overload and shuts down.....by then you are too tired,you have lost the plot let alone the need to find the plot and the book lays discarded along with yesterdays socks at the foot of your bed.This book is the chocolate fudge cake....the black glistening caviar....the oysters on the half shell....the bees proverbial knees.....get the message?Spellbinding, riveting...this novel is dark and light, a romance mired in the deaths of orphans and the frightening Algonquin lore of the witika.I don't want to say anymore...I picked this book up when last in New York and I can only wholeheartedly recommend it to you...perfect for the cold winter months.